Sunday
As a child my mum used to make fish fingers and I had been really looking for a way to duplicate the coating without using pork rinds or parmesan cheese. A friend sent me a nut and spice mix from Trader Joes called Dukkah. I decided to try this mix as my coating for the fish fingers.
- 250g of cod loin sliced into finger sized portions
- Old Bay seasoning
- 1 egg, beaten
- Dukkah spice and nut mix
Dust the fish portions with Old Bay and refrigerate overnight.
Place the beaten egg into a bowl and pour the Dukkah spice and nut mix onto a plate. Remove from the refrigerator and dip the fish fingers in egg before rolling in the Dukkah spice and nut mix.
Heat a mix of avocado oil and lard in a pan. Once heated up to 350F, gently place the fish in to fry. Brown evenly on both sides and when browned, place on paper towels to drain. Serve with 2 tbsp of avocado mayo as a dip.
Monday
One of my favourite lunch munches used to be tuna salad so I make them now with a lettuce wrap.
- 110g tuna fish, drained
- 3 large Romaine lettuce leaves
- 2 small dill pickles
- 2 tbsp avocado oil mayo
Drain the tuna and then flake it into a bowl. Dice the dill pickles and add them to the bowl with the tuna. Before adding the mayo give the tuna / pickle a good grind of black pepper and a sprinkle of pink salt. Add the mayo and combine everything for your tuna salad. Wash and dry your lettuce and then spoon in the tuna salad. Dress the tuna salad leaves with a good dusting of paprika. A refreshing lunch on a hot summer’s day.
Tuesday
When I first started keto I was not sure what I would do to replace mayo, it was something I used often in the kitchen and I quickly learned how to make my own. It’s very simple and nothing to be afraid of.
I have everything at room temperature and use a hand held immersion blender to bring everything together.
- 1 whole egg
- 1 cup avocado oil
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- 1½ tsp lemon juice
- a pinch of Sea salt (Use code: carriebrown for 15% discount!)
Everything goes into a wide necked jar and is blended for between 90 seconds and 2 minutes. It will last refrigerated for between 7 – 10 days.
Once you have your mayo you can produce a number of other dressings and a big favourite of mine is keto ranch.
To do this you need the following ingredients:
- 1 cup avocado oil mayo
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup double cream (HWC)
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp dried dill
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp dried basil.
This needs to be mixed thoroughly into the mayo/sour cream/double cream (HWC) base. You can adjust the amount of herbs and spices to suit your tastes. Will last in the fridge just like the mayo, 7 – 10 days.
Wednesday
Basic brunch
- 80g German garlic sausage
- 40g Caerphilly cheese (local Welsh cheese)
- 40g green olives
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
This is straight from the cupboard and fridge. The only prep is getting the plate from the cupboard.
Thursday
I enjoy fish when I can get it fresh and I was able to pick up some smoked Basa fillets for dinner. I popped about 40g of salted butter into my frying pan on a medium heat.
Whilst the butter was melting I trimmed and washed 75g each of broccoli florets and sprouts and they went in the steamer for 10 minutes.
I applied freshly ground black pepper and Sea salt (Use code: carriebrown for 15% discount!) to the fish before adding it to the pan. This fish cooked for about 2½ – 3 minutes on each side. Some of the smokiness of the fish was imparted into the butter.
I popped the fish onto my plate and moved the broccoli and sprouts into the butter in the frying pand for two minutes and served. I drizzled the remains of the butter from the pan onto the fish.
Friday
Offal is not everyone’s favourite choice for the dinner plate but I enjoy liver.
I get my chicken livers from my local butcher and freeze them myself. It is a very inexpensive meal and is nutrient dense.
- 175g chicken livers
- 30g of onion.
- ½ tbsp. coconut oil
- 20g salted butter
- 2 tbsp double cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Melt the coconut oil and salted butter in a frying pan.
Once this has melted add the diced onion and allow that to cook through on a medium high heat.
After about 4 minutes (or when the onion begins to take on colour) add the liver to the pan. This takes very little time to cook, at most two minutes on each side.
Once the liver is cooked (check by cutting into a piece of liver to confirm it’s cooked through) remove it from the pan and add 2 tbsp double cream and 1 tsp Dijon mustard.
This makes a delicious sauce to go on top of the liver. When the sauce ingredients have combined add the liver back to the pan for two minutes on a medium heat. Serve and enjoy.
Saturday
I was out on the road on Saturday and knew I would not be home until late to put together a carryout pack.
I prefer to take a packed lunch out with me because stopping at convenience place where I don’t normally shop can be a bit of a mine field.
In my take out pack I had 2 hard-boiled eggs and a hand full of washed baby spinach leaves. I packed 2 SoGo grass fed beef sticks, 2 Babybel originals and 25g dry roasted salted almonds.
I have a cool bag it this stuff will last a good six hours in the bag at a cool temperature. Normally stop at Costa for a coffee.
So who is this bloke, I hear you ask, taking space on Carrie Brown’s chunk of worldwide web Real Estate?
Well I am Vic Fleming and I have been following a ketogenic lifestyle since Oct, 2016. In that time I have reversed type 2 diabetes and lost 150lbs+ to regain some control over my health.
I have done this by revamping my whole way of eating and my approach to food and I hope to show that keto meal times don’t have to be stressful or complicated. I am not an expert or a trained culinary professional. I am just a regular guy who got sick of being told by his medical professionals that the rest of his life would be one that would be reliant on diabetes medications for survival.
Basic meals and meal prep are how I have been able to stick with keto and kick diabetes. I am now drug free and so much healthier. I am still a work in progress, and I will be for the rest of my life, I just wish I started this keto experiment many years ago.
